Bailey stared up at him. Aaron. Aaron Ward. She couldn’t believe it. He turned back to face her, and looked down at her for a moment. His eyes roamed her form, stopping on each injury, causing her to shift in her seat under his intense gaze.
Her heart twisted in her chest. It was him. It was really, truly him.
“Bailey?” he murmured. God, it had been so long since she’d heard him say her name, and something in her softened at once. All of the memories of them were flooding back to her, all the safety and comfort she’d felt in his presence. It was exactly why she’d come here. She knew there was nobody she could trust like him, even after what he’d done to her.
And, after what had happened last night, she knew she needed him more than ever.
He moved through the room, pulling the curtains shut, and she followed him with her eyes. He looked just the same as ever—the same purposeful gait, the same piercing green eyes, the same broad shoulders. She was even sure he was wearing the same aftershave, the scent drifting through the air as he walked by her. Mixed with something else, too—wood, the smell of grass.
But there were a few differences that she noticed as she kept watching him. Out of his police uniform, in a pair of jeans and a casual shirt, he looked more…relaxed. His light brown hair was a little grown out, and there was a smattering of stubble on his chin.
The same man who had betrayed her all those years ago. But the only person she could think of to run to when things had gone bad. Her mind ran in a million different directions. There was so much she wanted to say to him and ask him, but she also wanted to chew him the hell out for what he had done to her. She had sworn to herself she would never see him again, but here she was, sitting in front of him, and praying he was going to be able to help her.
“Are you okay?” Aaron asked as he noticed her wincing again.
She pressed her hand into her lower rib cage, trying to stem the bolt of pain that was rushing up her side. “I’m fine.”
“You don’t look fine,” Aaron replied skeptically.
She shook her head. “It’s not as bad as it looks.”
“You’ve had someone take a look at you?”
“Not yet,” she admitted. She hadn’t had time to stop by a hospital to get checked out, and she could feel the wetness of the blood starting to seep from her leg again. She thought she had stopped the bleeding, but clearly, that wasn’t the case.
“You need to let someone here take a look,” he told her.
She shook her head. She didn’t want to be seen by anyone else if she could help it. What if some of the people here were working withthem?What was going to happen to her? If they found her, they might not let her walk away this time.
“I’m fine,” she attempted to say again, but her voice wavered dangerously as the blood began to leak through her jeans once more.
“You’re bleeding,” Aaron replied bluntly.
“Nothing I can’t handle,” she replied.
“Then why are you here?”
Bailey felt her cheeks heat. He had called her bluff, and he was right. She wouldn’t have come here, to him of all people, if she thought there was any chance in hell that she could handle the situation herself. He stepped back, giving her the space she needed, but she could see the concern written all over his face.
“Because I got into some trouble and I need a place to lie low until I can get back on my feet,” she replied.
Did he buy it? She scanned his expression, trying to read what was going on in his mind. She used to know him so well, she could tell what he was thinking just from a look—but it had been so long now she wasn’t sure what the furrow in his brow meant.
That was all she was going to give him, for now. She needed to rest and clear her head before she got into details. She couldn’t risk spilling the truth of what had happened to drive her out here before she was ready. She had no idea how she had even managed to find this place, but when she had staggered in to the reception and told them she was here for Aaron, she knew at once that she had come to the right place. The shock on the face of the woman behind the desk as she’d darted off to find someone else was burned into her brain. Did she really look that rough?
“So, why did you ask specifically for me? If you were just coming here to lie low, there was no reason for me to even know you were here.”
Damn. He had a point. He would be the last person she would want to see, so what made her ask for him? What would he believe?
“I heard you might be here, so I asked. I really wasn’t expecting you to show up after—” She snapped her lips closed. She didn’t want to open that can of worms right now. She had enough on her plate to deal with. “It doesn’t matter. Call it curiosity, that’s all.”
He narrowed his eyes at her, weighing her words. She knew he didn’t believe her, but hopefully he wouldn’t call her on it now.
“Fine,” Aaron replied, shaking his head. “What can we do to help?”
He hadn’t changed. Always focusing on the practical solutions to any problem and what he could do to make the situation better. That was Aaron in a nutshell. She wasn’t sure she needed anything practical right now, though. She wasn’t even sure how to feel about all of this.
She was scared and worried they were going to find her and finish what they started last night. She was still sad and angry about Aaron’s betrayal, but she also felt unexpected joy and another feeling she couldn’t quite name now that he was standing in front of her. It was all just too much right now to process.
